Premier powerhouse back in the big time

MUNSTER SHC FIRST ROUND: KEITH DUGGANtraces the re-emergence to prominence of famed Thurles Sarsfields who lock horns with Cork's Newtownshandrum tomorrow

THE RETURN to prominence of Thurles Sarsfields could be interpreted as further evidence of things falling back into place for Tipperary hurling. The richest vein of form for the club, from the mid 1950s to the mid 1960s, coincided with the supreme passage in the annals of Tipperary hurling when the county team seemed all but invincible.

And the abrupt end to winning habits, which came in 1974, ran in tandem with a long, bleak period for the county team as well. Thurles re-emerged as Tipperary champions in 2005 and having recaptured the title this year, they will seek to extend what has been a fine year for Premier hurling tomorrow when they host Newtownshandrum in Semple Stadium.

“This is an occasion for us,” acknowledges manager Michael Gleeson. “Our objective at the start of this year was to win the Tipperary championship and, having lost out narrowly last year, we are delighted to have achieved that. Obviously, we will have a go at the Munster championship now. The team met Newtownshandrum when we were last in the competition in 2005. We haven’t really referred to that game in preparing for this game, it was a few seasons ago and this is just my second year training the team.”

When the teams met in 2005, Newtownshandrum were the reigning All-Ireland club champions, having patented their slick running and short-passing game.

They duly recaptured the Munster title and returned to the St Patrick’s Day stage, where they lost out to a rising Portumna team.

However, this is the first appearance in the Munster club championship for both clubs since that season. Strangely, Ger Cunningham coached Thurles that year, the Limerick man having been at the helm in Newtownshandrum when they made their breakthrough in Munster in 2003.

Because the games have come thick and fast for Thurles, Gleeson has had little opportunity to study the Cork side, but he noted the whopping score of 3-22 they posted in their final win over ex-Cork champions, Sarsfields.

That smoking scoreline suggested a game that contrasted to the Tipperary showpiece, in which Thurles beat Drom and Inch by 0-14 to 0-05. An eagerly-anticipated match never really got going and Drom’s evening went sour after their midfielder James Woodlock was carried off with a serious leg injury following an accidental collision.

“A lot of people said it was a poor game,” Gleeson admits easily. “And that we won it fairly easily. I suppose, from where I was standing, it didn’t seem like that. If it had been the sort of game where each side scores 3-20 and the match is decided by a point in injury time, well, that would have been fantastic. But it wasn’t that sort of match. It was a tense game and the important thing for us was to get the win.”

Gleeson has been at the heart of Thurles hurling for many years, instrumental in various under-age successes enjoyed by Thurles Óg and he was a selector during Liam Sheedy’s time in charge of the county minor team. He agrees the fall from grace Sarsfields suffered after 1975 seemed dramatic but points out it was not as if the club fell from the face of the earth.

“Prior to that point, the club was accustomed to an incredible level of success. They were county champions every year from ’55 to ’65,with the exception of 1960, when Toomevara won it. To maintain that kind of achievement was always going to be tough. Now, after ’74, Thurles Óg did win numerous county titles at all grades up to the age of 16.

“But it wasn’t as if Sarsfields were standing idly by. The club came close on several occasions – the 1992 county final always stands out for me – but just never got the breaks. And other clubs, like Toomevara, came through with exceptionally strong teams. These things come in cycles.

“So Thurles were always working away and bringing young players through but there was never any guarantee. That was why winning in 2005 was such an emotional return for us.”

This year’s vintage has been strengthened by the return of their four Tipperary county men, including All Stars Pádraic Maher and Lar Corbett. But the team has changed notably from the side that last appeared on this stage just four years ago.

Ger “Redser” O’Grady was captain that year. In the final against Drom and Inch, he came on from the bench and scored two second-half points, a contribution that delighted the manager.

“Ger is an icon in Tipperary hurling. He made such a reputation for himself at minor and under-21 level and he is such a charismatic type of individual that it seems as if he has been around for a long time. But he is still a relatively young hurler. He has been unfortunate this year with injuries and his entry to that match gave everyone a lift. Hurling is so central to Ger’s life and he is a hugely important figure to this Thurles team.”

The occasion has fallen perfectly for Sarsfields, with the curtains coming down on the GAA 125 celebrations in Hayes Hotel on Sunday night. The Artane Boys band will lead the parade before the match in Semple Stadium.

After those fallow decades, this is without question an important weekend for the club. But they are facing one of the most rigorously organised and ambitious clubs in the country. Newtownshandrum’s emergence from relative obscurity has been one of the great stories of the club championship in this decade. The O’Connor brothers, Ben and Jerry, remain at the heart of the attacking engine of the club and have pioneered the sharp, precise, possession-game that brought them earlier glories.

Their impressive dismantling of reigning champions Cork Sarsfields was a clear statement of intent and the prominence of younger players like goalkeeper Willie Biggane and 17-year-old forward Jamie Coughlan promises a new wave of success. They will come to Thurles with high expectations.

“It is going to be an extremely tough match,” Gleeson forecasts. “Newtownshandrum are a proven force at this stage and they had the edge on us last time. But that is water under the bridge and we feel we have everything to play for. Most of all, we are delighted that Thurles are still hurling this late in the season. It certainly beats the alternative.”